


If Only In My Dreams

by AsagiStilinski



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: 12 Days of Sterek, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Boats and Ships, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, Merman Stiles Stilinski, sailor Derek Hale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2019-12-17
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:48:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21765559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsagiStilinski/pseuds/AsagiStilinski
Summary: Being a sailor- isolated from people, alone at sea- is never easy, but it's especially hard over the holidays, Derek wanted so badly to be home by Christmas but... it doesn't look like that's going to happenThen he meets a merman and things kind of take a turn for the better
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Comments: 7
Kudos: 193
Collections: 12 Days of Sterek





	If Only In My Dreams

**Author's Note:**

> Day five of 12 Days Of Sterek, inspired by "I'll Be Home For Christmas"

The life of a sailor wasn't easy

Derek in particular took a hard approach to the journey

It wasn't so much that he minded the loneliness it's self, he had never been all that social, but he missed his family

He missed being able to visit them on certain days and certain times, he missed being within their company whenever he pleased

Sailing wasn't really his choice in career though, it was a family thing- not even what he would consider a job

Long ago their family had been run out of Spain by hunters, they ended up scattered across Europe and- potentially- the new world as well, it had become tradition to send a member of the family sailing once a year to find their lost packmates, to search high and low across the continent for family to bring back to Ireland, where the largest portion of the pack- where the Alpha- was now stationed

It just so happened that this had been Derek's year

And it just so happened that he had come back empty-handed

That was why he was so late arriving back in comparison to trips past, because he had searched high and low for anyone with a drop of the pack's blood and come up without a single trace of anyone

He hadn't wanted to give up, but there was a hard and fast rule in his family about celebrating Christmas together- after all, it was also Derek's birthday

But he doubted that would happen this year

The weather had been sour and the journey had started late, all in all he was still closer to England than he was Ireland, and it was already Christmas Eve

He hoped his family wasn't worried, but there was no way to contact them....

Heaving a quiet sigh, he settled himself against the wall of the ship and leaned back, opening his book and positioning his oil lamp so that he could read as comfortably as possible

Books were the only way he kept his sanity during this journey- or any journey

They allowed his mind to rest and his soul to explore, he reminded him that there was more to the world than just this, and they staved off the loneliness

His ship was full of them, weighted down, books written in scads of different languages that he only had a brittle understanding of in the first place- but steadily picked up on more of as he read- were neatly stored below deck, and on cold nights like these when his natural werewolf body heat allowed him to sit outside on deck, he liked to read beneath the stars

It wasn't much

It was a simple existence

But it was his and he was glad for it and he was happy to be simple, happy to have a quiet life with books and starlight rather than raging "adventures" filled with war and death that so many other men his age looked for

Maybe it made him sound weak or cowardly, people had expressed that before, but he didn't care

He was happy and he lived a good life where he took care of his family and tried to help people who needed it, so he considered it a worthy life, a life that he was proud of

He didn't know how long he was reading for, but it couldn't have been _that_ long, as there had been no noticeable changes in the sky, but Derek found himself starting to doze off regardless

He knew he wouldn't get much more reading done with his mind being so quiet and still, he would have to wait until he was a little more awake and alert before he could get to the center of his thick English book, now was a time to sleep

So, standing up and giving a small stretch, he clutched his book close to his chest and began making his way to the door leading below deck

He didn't get that far though

He barely managed to get half-way across the deck before he startled, noticing a pair of bright, shimmering amber across the ship, in the water, beneath the dark night sky...

Heart leaping into his chest, he hurried across deck to peer down into the water, catching a glimpse of a beautifull red tail as it poked out of the water and then slid back down beneath the surface

Oh no

Oh. _No_.

Derek wasn't going to let that go

"I'm a werewolf!" he shouted down into the water

Not that it would necessarily make a difference, he knew

Some merfolk just didn't like or trust land-creatures, regardless of their nature or their species

Wile many of them feared humans, some of them just feared the land in general

Though, evidently, this wasn't true for all of them, as- much to Derek's releif and delight- there were a few ripples in the water, before a human-looking head emerged

Smiling a little awkwardly as he looked over the side of the ship, desire to sleep far from present now, he watched as the mer-creature swam a little bit closer, finally raising up out of the water enough to show Derek more of himself than just his brown hair and equally brown eyes

His skin was pale, so much so that it nearly shimmered in the darkness of the sky and the low light of the moon

He had bright red scales and webbed fingers, with a clearly male presenting torso, and gills along his ribs

He was the most beautifull creature Derek had ever laid eyes on- and that was really saying something, considering that Derek had experience with both faeries and vampires

"You... speak... English?" the merman asked slowly as he approached the boat

Derek thought it was an odd question, considering he just _had_ been speaking English, but...

"Yes," he finally said

The merman grinned, eyes lighting up and sharp pointy teeth becoming much more defined with the breadth of his excited grin

"Yes!" the merman beamed, eagerly and immediately swimming closer, craning his neck now to stare up at the ship

"Werewolf! Name?" he shouted eagerly

Derek had to try not to chuckle at that

"Derek Hale," he called back down, crossing his legs casually at the ankle as he leaned over the side of the deck and stared down at the excitable merman

"Your name?"

"Stiles!" the merman chirped in return

"It's nice to meet you Stiles, where are you from?"

That one seemed to take a little bit more time for Stiles to understand, but he got it eventually

"Poland! Derek, you?"

"Ireland, you're a far way from home,"

Stiles let out a disgruntled hissing sound, rolling his eyes

"Chase freind! ...Lost!"

Derek's lips turned downwards, into a small frown

"Ah... you were chasing your freind... now you're lost...." he echoed, more to himself though, than the merman

Stiles gave an affirmative noise anyway, tail raising up and slapping the water like a dolphin in annoyance

Derek would have liked to know how long such a chase must have gone on for to lead Stiles from Poland to being nearly in Ireland, but for now, he resisted the urge to ask

"You?" Stiles called back, evidently wondering why Derek wasn't home at the moment as well

"Sailor," Derek replied simply, heaving a quiet sigh as he rested his head on his palm

"On my way back home,"

Stiles gave a quiet nod of understanding back, swimming up a little closer and staring at Derek mournfully

"....Christmas?"'

Oh

That....

Well, Derek was actually a fair deal impressed by that

He hadn't known that merfolk even knew what the concept of Christmas was, but Stiles proved that he not only knew it, but knew enough about it to know when it was and that Derek not being home for it was something of a sorrowfull occasion

Or maybe merfolk very much knew about Christmas

Maybe they celebrated it too and Stiles was just as sad about not being able to celebrate with his family as Derek was about his own predicament

Derek sort of hoped that wasn't the case

It was painfull enough for himself, being apart from his family on Christmas, on his _birthday_

He didn't want Stiles to be in pain like that too

Sure, he didn't actually _know_ Stiles, but he wouldn't wish that kind of pain and loneliness on anyone, especially someone he wanted to consider a freind- wich he knew was a little odd, considering how recent Stiles was as a development, but out here on the sea, where he was alone for months at a time and had no ability to form longterm relationships even when he occasionally docked, he was eager to befreind just about anyone

He had never been above befreinding birds that flew by, for example....

He liked to imagine that the birds understood him and enjoyed his conversations, atleast from time to time

But it was definitely nice to have someone who could communicate back

"I'll... be late," he replied after a beat of deciding how best to go about answering that particular question

"What about you?"

Stiles was quiet for a moment, his expression downcast, shoulders sinking

"....Miss...."

He'd be missing it completely....

That was no surprise, Poland was much further away from English seas than Ireland was

"I'm sorry," Derek noted softly

Stiles shrugged a little, but Derek could see how much it bothered him all the same

"I.. I know these waters well," the werewolf mused, voice steady, if a bit awkward in tone

"I'll help you get home to your family, after Christmas, I'll set a course for Poland and lead you back there,"

Stiles' expression was.... indescribable

He looked so amazed, so hopefull and so... taken aback? No maybe that wasn't the word...

Derek didn't know how to express it, only that Stiles looked like Derek had just given him the entire world

"....Why?" the merman finally asked

"Why?" Derek echoed in confusion

"Why am I helping you?"

An affirmative chirp from the sea-creature, and Derek supposed it was a relatively decent question to ask

"Because..... because no creature deserves to be lost and without their family,"

Stiles nodded slowly, seeming to take a moment to really consider that, before smiling shyly up at Derek, earnest and unsure

"....Thank you," he said softly

Derek's face flushed a shade of red and he nodded, clearing his throat awkwardly

"Um... you're welcome,"

For a moment, the conversation was stilted, each man seeming to consider the other, before Stiles finally spoke again

"....Wolf....... face?" the merman asked after a beat, eyebrows raised

"You want to see my wolf face?"

Stiles made a chirping noise, sounding quite affirmative

It made Derek chuckle, warm and amused, his eyes light, before finally nodding his agreement

"Alright, you can see it,"

Obediently, he allowed the familiar warmth of his shift to take over- atleast partly- as his features shifted into something more wild and wolf-like, with bright golden eyes and sharp teeth, pointed ears and an almost unnatural looking facial structure, he should have looked menacing, he should have looked terrifying.....

And yet Stiles just seemed _thrilled_ , chirping and laughing as he grinned and let himself fall backwards into the water

"Oh you think this is funny?"

The snickering Stiles gave was more than enough evidence to the affirmation of that

"You know that our kind are feared on land," Derek pointed out, a statement rather than a question

Stiles snorted, clearly unimpressed, an made a funny face that Derek could only assume was meant to mimic his own

The sailor rolled his eyes, but there was fondness there

There was just something about the merman that made him feel comfortable and at ease

Maybe it was going so dreadfully long without companionship, but...

Derek had a feeling that it was something more than that

~+~

The sounds of people nearby, hustling and bustling about, were ultimately what woke Derek

He blinked his eyes open to the bright light of the sun and lifted his head with a wince, his body sore from having slept in an unnatural position on the hard wood of the ship's deck all night, but that was hardly his first concern

Why were there people around?

He should be in the open sea....

Eyes wide, he stumbled to his feet and turned around, finding in amazement and confusion that he was docked at a port

....Evidently an Irish one, at that, as he heard a few familiar Gaelic tunes being sung here and there, equally familiar accents played like music in his ears and he felt his heart skip a beat

He was home....

He was _home_ for Christmas....

But how?

The last thing he remembered was falling asleep talking to Stiles, sitting against the ship's wall and staring down into the water at those gleaming red scales as sleep began to take him

Now somehow he was home

He refused to believe that was a coincidence

Hurrying to the stern, he peered over and into the water, shouting out a _"Stiles?!"_ as loudly as he could without running the risk of catching the attention of those already on land

Much to his delight and releif, the water rippled, and Stiles' face was soon grinning up at him, like a child who had done something impressive

"Did.... did you do this? Did you get me here?"

An affirmative chirp was Derek's answer

"How?"

Stiles just smirked, and Derek took that to mean that he wasn't really meant to know

Maybe it was a tightly kept mer-secret or maybe Stiles just didn't feel like letting Derek in on it, no matter the case, whatever it was, Derek didn't much care, he was just happy that Stiles had helped

"Well... thank you..."

Stiles nodded, giving Derek a warm smile, before starting to sink back into the water fully

"Wait!!"

Startled, the merman paused, eyebrows raised, staring up at Derek in question

"I-... can you... walk on land?"

He had heard rumors that merfolk could, in fact, shapeshift into a human form at will if they so desired

It wasn't something they chose to do often, but they _could_ choose to do it all the same

Stiles nodded slowly, a clearly puzzled look on his face

"Then... can you do that? And meet me on the shore, in front of the ship as soon as you can?"

Another affirmative nod, much to Derek's releif

The werewolf hesitated a moment before finally heading away from the stern of the ship, heading down to the cabin below to gather the crate of treasure and gifts that he had purchased or traded for across his journey, all meant for his family

He was home for Christmas, ofcourse he would walk in bearing gifts

He also picked up a spare set of clothes, anticipating Stiles having a need for them, and hurried off of the ship, impressed and excited to notice a very familiar face waiting for him at their designated location

And.... fully clothed at that

"Where did you get the clothes from?"

Stiles grinned wickedly, and Derek suddenly had a sneaking suspicion that he knew the answer

"You stole them, didn't you?"

Ah, the grin widened, Stiles gleefully snickering in response

...

Yep, stolen

"I brought you these, you didn't hav-"

Stiles took the clothes Derek offered him.... but he stayed dressed in the stolen ones

Derek suspected it was really only half about modesty

"Where go?" Stiles asked curiously, head tilted as he stepped closer to Derek

"You brought me home to my family, so... I figure it's only fair that you get to meet them,"

The stunned look on the merman's face was well worth their little scuffle about the clothes, it made Derek smile, a chuckle blooming in his chest as he held his hand out for the merman's

"You.... family....... sure?"

"I'm positive," Derek affirmed

"No one should be alone on Christmas,"

With a bit of hesitation, Stiles set his hand in Derek's, allowing his fingers to curl around the werewolf's as Derek started leading him in the direction of his home, a warmth settling over him that could combat the cold weather around them, a warmth he hadn't felt in an extraordinarily long time

"...By the way, you need shoes," he noted, glancing down at Stiles' bare feet

The merman's eyes sparkled, a mischievous smirk falling over his face, but Derek was having none of it

"Not stolen," he demanded firmly

"I-.. you know what? On second thought, let's wait until we get home,"

"...Home," Stiles echoed softly, his voice warm and quiet, drawing a smile to Derek's face

"Yeah... home...."


End file.
